As the U.S. Secretary of State unveils a challenging ceasefire initiative, Israel and Hezbollah engage in mutual strikes.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to renew ceasefire discussions aimed at ending the conflict in Gaza and has emphasized the need for increased humanitarian aid to be permitted into the Palestinian territory.
Blinken arrived in Israel on Tuesday for his 11th visit to the Middle East since the Gaza war started over a year ago. This is his first trip to the region since Israel heightened its conflict with Hezbollah late last month.
The visit began on a troubling note as Hezbollah fired medium-range missiles at Tel Aviv, briefly closing Ben Gurion Airport, where Blinken had just arrived, according to Israeli media reports.
During the meeting in Jerusalem, the U.S. official urged Netanyahu to “capitalize” on the recent killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar to help bring an end to the war in Gaza.
Blinken “emphasized the importance of building on Israel’s successful operation to bring Yahya Sinwar to justice by ensuring the release of all hostages and resolving the conflict in Gaza in a manner that ensures lasting security for both Israelis and Palestinians,” stated U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller following the discussions.
Blinken also “stressed the importance of Israel taking further measures to enhance and maintain the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, ensuring that it reaches civilians across the region,” Miller stated.
Netanyahu’s office stated that Sinwar’s death “could positively impact the return of hostages, the accomplishment of all war objectives, and the post-war situation.”
However, there was no mention of a potential ceasefire after a year of conflict that has significantly diminished Hamas’s military capabilities and left much of Gaza in ruins, displacing the vast majority of its 2.3 million Palestinian residents.
The U.S. State Department reported that Blinken and Netanyahu also talked about methods to implement a long-stalled 2006 UN resolution, passed after the previous Israel-Hezbollah war, aimed at restoring security and calm along the Israel-Lebanon border and enabling civilians on both sides to return home.
While Blinken was meeting with Israeli leaders, Hezbollah dismissed the possibility of entering negotiations with Israel as long as the fighting persists, and it took responsibility for a drone attack that targeted Netanyahu’s vacation home on Saturday.
In his statement, Netanyahu emphasized the need for a change in the security and political situation in Lebanon to enable Israelis to return safely to their homes that have been subjected to Hezbollah rocket fire.
Change of strategy
Israel’s conflict with the Iran-aligned armed group Hezbollah in Lebanon has escalated in recent weeks following a year of cross-border clashes.
Early on Tuesday, Hezbollah announced that it had fired volleys of rockets at two Israeli military bases near Tel Aviv, as well as a naval base in Haifa.
Israel declared a state of emergency in the Tel Aviv area, and the country’s emergency services reported that a man was injured by falling debris in the northern town of Ma’agan Michael.
“This is the first instance of medium-range missiles being used by Hezbollah,” stated Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan, reporting from Hasbaiyya in southern Lebanon.
“Just last week, Hezbollah announced that they were going to alter their strategy regarding Israel,” he noted, indicating that the group is likely to launch similar medium-range weapons “repeatedly” in the future.
In Lebanon, the Ministry of Public Health reported that 18 people, including four children, were killed and at least 60 others injured in an overnight Israeli strike near Rafik Hariri University Hospital in southern Beirut.
Limited hopes
The violence surrounding Blinken’s visit highlights the limited optimism that his trip will lead to a breakthrough.
“The rhetoric from Prime Minister Netanyahu, along with many others in his government and the Israeli opposition, reflects a tone of defiance, making it a challenging situation at this point,” Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Jamjoom reported from Amman, Jordan.
Nevertheless, former Israeli Justice Minister Yossi Beilin expressed hope that the trip will at least “help create the possibility of a ceasefire.”
“It’s truly time to put an end to this war. We are all paying a significant price and suffering,” he told Al Jazeera.
Following his visit to Israel, Blinken is scheduled to travel to Jordan on Wednesday to discuss humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip, according to an official traveling with him.
